Large Computer Desk Veneered ash Mdf

This desk is made for computer and music equipment and to fit with the room it was intended for.Made from 2 8×4`s of moisture resistant MDF, 16mm thickness.I bought the M?DF mail order and asked if it was veneered on both sides “yes ” replied the salesman, Ok I thought, assuming it was Ash both sides, so I ordered it, along with iron on edge banding and a piece of solid Ash. Only when it arrived did I realized it was a different wood on the B side, this mistake was mine I did not ask if it was A/A or A/B veneered. Remember this point if you order this stuff, luckily I kind of got away with it in this case but it could have been an expensive mistake.

I first cut out all the required pieces with a circular saw and a straight edge clamp. A careful cutting list was needed to get all the bits out of 2 sheets.Next I biscuit jointed the solid timber lips on to the top and shelves. I used an epoxy resin because it dries quick and glues strongly.I used masking tape a lot on the glue up to stop messy squeeze out.All the joints are using biscuits (no 10). This is only about the second time I have done biscuits and I will just say a bit about it which may help someone out. I purchased an Erbaur machine for a good price. Previously have I used a borrowed Trend machine. The Erbaur is not in the same class as the Trend but works well enough. The problem I found was that the fence did not want to stay parallel across the face of the machine. This is because the winder is on one side and it always pulls this side down further than the opposing side. Once I noticed this problem I found I could move it square by hand and lock it in osition, the trend was far superior in this regard with a perfectly square fence.
Once set up the machine cut quite well and performed well enough, I suppose its a case of `you get what you pay for`....

Once It was all glued up in its 3 main pieces I assembled it in position and fitted the slides for the keyboard shelf. At this point I added some pieces of wood underneath to help locating the pieces for installation.

I finished it with 3 coats of OSMO polyx satin floor oil. I found this finish to be great, easy to apply and not too smelly. Everything fitted together well, when it was installed I added some little brackets in the corners underneath for stability.